Medusa
by SenseOfHumor
Summary: After the events of The Winter Soldier, Natasha Romanoff is none too pleased to find one of Hydra's most guarded Science Expirements hidden in a stone cage: a very young girl with the project name "Medusa".
1. Beginning

Natasha was well adapted to changes in plans. Such was a permanent side effect of her upbringing-adapt to all situations. Her time with the others was meant to bring some of that influence to the team, and perhaps shape them to be as good as her. Though by now, she'd come to accept that her teammates were the most disorganized mess with no hope of ever being remotely alike to each other. Maybe she'd come to like that too.

She adapted to many major changes in the past couple of weeks. The impending death of Hydra led to the successful capture of many Hydra outposts and an estimated 53% of all their current members. There was also the fact that they were more exposed given media coverage of their cause, SHIELD handed over most missions to the Avengers due to their disbandment, and Sam was sticking around for negotiations on being a team member. It was a bit strange, sharing such a giant building with a giant roster of allies, but it was manageable. Steve was worried she was occasionally purposely avoiding them, but he thankfully said nothing of the matter. Things were new, yet quickly becoming a routine thing now. Then came another change, one that seemed small at first, in hindsight.

Thanks to the capturing of the Hydra bases, SHIELD and other government groups had been recently swallowing in huge spoils of war-Mission catalogs, weapons, prototype battle armor and other things that Hydra troops had been working on for the past century. Since most of the vaults were filling up on the major helicarriers, Nat eventually got a call from Hill about a mission to take down one of the larger outposts Hydra had to offer in Russia just so the spoils of war could stay within the tower for a temporary time. Seeing nothing wrong with this, the team agreed to make an attack.

The outpost went down easily, but there was an interesting twist to things that Natasha did not see coming until it was too late.

She was just sneaking her way up the stairs, crouched low in anticipation of the nervous russian voices in the hallway. When she was close enough to the edge of an office compartment, she paused to listen in on what they were saying. The quiet way they spoke only offered her minor clues to the conversation, a few statements about an 'it' and 'the asset'. When one of them began walking away in hurried fashion, she sprung from her position and crippled the one left behind with a few well-placed shots. He seemed more concerned about barking a few last orders at his fleeing comrade, such as 'Destroy it, they can't take it'.

Whatever the other's mission was, he didn't get to execute it- he was just starting to open a specific cell door in another hallway when she caught up tohim and soon he was lying in a groaning heap on the floor, his gun skidding away from his hand. She probably should have just binded him and carried him back down in their custody, but her curiosity began to rise towards the partially open cell door. What were they so intent on destroying and keeping from the Avengers? Some genetically created monster? At the very least, she could see if she could kill it and contact Thor if that plan failed.

She opened the door slowly, her gun drawn in her right hand and the dim rainy light from the outside world entered a dark abyss. She squinted as she stepped inside until her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, noticed the rusty old bed and the dirty look of the metal walls. The cold could be felt even through her suit, and the air felt somewhat stagnant. It didn't seem like anything was living in such a decrepit place, in such poor conditions. Then she finally noticed the _girl_.

It hadn't looked like a girl at first, just a huddled ball in the corner of the room, with a thin white sheet covering its entire body. Natasha, stepping closer with great caution, wondered if she would have even seen the figure if they hadn't been covered in a bright sheet in an otherwise dark place. They were certainly small enough to hide under the bed, or even behind the door when it opened, yet this figure seemed to rely on the corner as a hiding space. The Black Widow crouched low as she approached once more, first intending to snatch the sheets off, then reforming her plan to simply poking the figure. She could only imagine Clint rolling his eyes in disbelief as she gently tapped what seemed like a shoulder.

That's when the figure nervously turned to look at her, and she learned that it was just a girl.

Nat's eyes widened at the tiny, frightened face cowering below her and trying to squeeze back against the dark corner. It was a literally a little girl; no more than three or four years old-but there were many startling differences between most little girls and her. Her skin was entirely bright green, almost like a candy of some kind. Her cheeks, as well as most of her skin, were dusted with tiny reptilian scales in the likeness of freckles. Her nose was flatter, visible only by slanted nostrils a serpent might have. Her eyes were also like that of reptiles, with slitted pupils sitting in the center of beautiful purple pools. Natasha's lips pursed as she took note of the nasty looking bruise on the eye farthest from her, nearly swollen shut. Dried blood trickled down from her nostrils.

She nearly missed it when the girl's trembling hands moved from under the sheets, making different signs with apprehensive fear. Natasha quickly recognized the RSL and mentally translated it to: "_W-Who are you…?"_

There were no obvious signs the girl was deaf, but it didn't matter anyway. Natasha blinked at her for a moment, then slowly holstered her gun. Her hands raised with peaceful slowness to convey that she meant no harm, but also to give her time to think of what to say. She swallowed softly and lifted her fingers.

"_I am a friend._" Natasha signed.

The girl's brow furrowed. "_A...A what…_?"

Natasha thought for a moment. "_I am a good person. I am not going to hurt you, _" She paused. "_I am going to help you_."

The girl looked skeptical about that, but she signed nothing about her caution. Nat grimaced at the bruises again, her hands moving once more. "_What's your name…?_"

The girl looked even more confused and worried, so she decided to follow that question up with another-forgetting to sign this time. "_Have you ever been outside…?_"

The girl blinked, frowned and shook her head. So she could hear.

"_Well, why don't you come with me?_" Natasha coaxed in Russian, trying to smile in a way that would help. _"I'll show you what it's like outside._"

The girl cringed, surprisingly, trying even harder to retreat into the darkness of the corner and sway from Nat. "_I'll be punished again_." She signed with trembling hands.

She forced herself not to think about what 'punishment' entailed. The older woman frowned uncomfortably, trying to remember any physical tactics Clint used for his own children. When nothing helpful passed her train of thought, she tried to make herself seem as small as the girl by crouching more despite her aching body. She made slower hand signatures, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't have to force the girl out of a place seemingly pushing her towards death. Who knew when she was last fed, or even had any sleep? "_No, you won't. I promise you...that you won't be punished again if you come with me_."

The girl blinked, her purple eyes full of waning fear and uncertainty.


	2. Beginning Part 2

Natasha fully expected Steve's surprised reaction when he saw her. Most of the time they went on missions like this, he often found her covered in the blood of someone who had been unfortunate enough to get in her path or with a massive bruise or two. He always seemed a little worse for wear himself on occasion, but this time he was practically unscathed. He was buckling himself into the Quinjet's Pilot seat when she walked on board and his eyebrows raised in surprise as well as confusion when he saw her.

"_What_-" He blinked with squinting eyes, scanning the white bundle that his partner was cradling to her chest and the file packet in one of her hands. "What is that?"

Natasha set the little girl on the floor of the jet, not too far behind Steve to not be seen by her if she wanted. The girl looked around the ship like a stray dog might look around its cage in the kennel, clearly not used to the new set of sights and smells. She tried smiling at the quivering, anxious expression settled upon the child's face before making her way over to the other seat. "Where's Thor?"

Impatiently, Rogers narrowed his eyes. "He wrapped up the tanks, _literally_. He'll meet us back at the tower. Now who-"

"I don't know...She doesn't have a name. " Natasha buckled herself into the seat and turned to him, placing the files onto the dashboard. "I found her in one of their cells. I think they were using for something. Maybe tests. I found those files near the cell, but it seems more like a catalog of days and events."

Steve, as expected, didn't look happy with her decision. "The kid could be dangerous, you know. Hydra may have slipped up, but they still have a knack for making deadly weapons... Maybe we should hand her over to SHIELD…?"

Natasha looked back at the girl. She was holding the sheets tightly around herself, shuddering as she looked at everything the ship had to offer. She looked thin and frail even while hidden beneath the cloth, not to mention tired given the bags positioned beneath her eyes. "...I know this a little unorthodox for you, but...for all we know, this kid hasn't seen anything but four walls all her life. SHIELD might just put her in another box or worse...Lets...Let's just see how this goes."

Steve sighed but didn't make any more serious arguments against her. "Avengers Tower isn't exactly a place for _kids_."

" It actually has rooms for us and guests; some of them better than five-star hotels, arguably. More importantly, it has Stark, Banner, and medical supplies." She locked her seatbelt into place, perfect timing for the gradual ascending of the jet. Though briefly surprised, the girl didn't seem overly stressed. "Taking her to a hospital is worse than throwing her to SHIELD. "

He frowned deeper, almost afraid to ask. "How bad is she?"

Natasha believed that if she remained just quiet enough, she could just faintly make out the wheezing breaths she'd heard in clear detail no long ago. Grimacing, Nat forced herself to not look back. "From what I've seen? There are bruises and cuts all over her. Some of them look fresh, others look infected. She has a pretty high fever with cold symptoms, and I don't think they've given her a bath or fed her in…" She briefly paused, a little unhappy that she hadn't pounded their faces in when she had the chance. "She wouldn't have made it if we didn't find her."

Steve nodded. "I'll call Stark-tell him to prep the Med Bay."

"Nah, I already called Clint-"

She whirled around at the sound of a cough from the girl, witnessing as the cough evolved into painful hacking. She was dry heaving when Natasha finally wrestled the seatbelt off, kneeling beside the frail thing only milliseconds later. " Hey. You okay? Tell me how you're feeling?" She signed slowly, calmly.

The girl fought to breathe; mucus rattled noisily in her chest and she couldn't quite focus her eyes on the older woman. "...Bad. Feel…" She sniffled, hands trembling. "Feel bad. Very bad."

Trying to keep from startling her or touching the bruise on her forehead, Natasha pressed a thumb to her skin and tsked. "She's burning up on me, " She explained aloud.

Rogers kept the wheel steady but allowed his eyes to do the pointing. " The First Aid Kit might have something."

It did have something, as she came to realize a few seconds later. She fished out a very large ice pack with long-lasting effects within, as well as a few Antiseptic Wipes. She gingerly pressed the ice pack to the girl's face and wiped away at any visible blood or mucus. The girl was still tense about physical contact by this point, which only served to make Natasha wonder if her interactions were the only ones with _good_ intent in her entire life. Any thoughtful ramblings slowed down as she noticed the girl nodding off slightly. She stopped pressing the pack onto her head to sign: " _Are you sleepy?"_

The girl gave a drowsy sniffle, blinking slowly. "_Yes_."

"_Alright. Come here_, "

Nat scooped her up slowly and carried her back to the co-pilot seat with her resting against her chest. The girl's head shifted, coincidentally right where Natasha's heartbeat drummed endlessly and she seemed to stop and listen. Not even forty seconds later, the girl was limp against and just slightly snoring.

She looked up to see that Steve staring at them both, and nodded when Nat met his gaze. It would be mostly silent for the rest of the trip back.


	3. Beginning Part 3

The Quinjet was many things, and one of those things was fast. Despite the fact that normal planes might take nine hours to travel from Moscow to New York, the ship cut that down to six hours at cruising speed. It didn't even feel very long, making occasional small talk with Steve; finding out which modern day activities to add to his list of things he didn't understand yet. She kept her voice low to keep from disturbing the girl, almost purring to make sure she stayed asleep. And sleep she did, for the entire trip back.

They landed in the docking bay of the tower, and Natasha was glad to see that Clint had stuck to her text instructions given that Stark was nowhere to be seen. As nice as he could be, Stark was a very loud and boisterous person and that kind of person was bad for someone as nervous as the kid. Given her bizarre looks, she imagined he would focus entirely on her for too long.

Once the ship powered off, Nat slowly stood up and marveled at how deep of a sleep the kid was in; it might be for the best. "Still napping, " She whispered to Steve as he peeked over.

"I think that room on hall A might be good for her. It's spacious, if anything and it's right next to yours anyway, " He shrugged helpfully and she smiled slightly. It hadn't even crossed her mind until he spoke it, which was yet another reason to be glad he was there. As she started to reply, he squinted at what he could see of the girl's face. "Wait...what is that…?"

She squinted too, scanning the sleeping face below her. She almost immediately found the girl's hairline just barely peeking out from the white sheets; it looked like her hair had grown into thick, multicolored dreadlocks. At least, until she lifted the sheet entirely.

Snakes.

A plethora of snakes were flowing from her scalp in the place of regular hair, a tangled mess of scaley tubes. The ones at her hairline were about as thick around as her thumb but grew thicker the further back her head went. Nat's eyes recognized many species out of the colorful garden: green garters, brown rattlesnakes, mottled cobras, striped corals, and ebony mambas. When she gently repositioned the girls head, she could see one Burmese python and one Green Anaconda as thick as Steve's wrist flowing from the back of her head. All the snakes were either unmoving or too lethargic to be a threat; lashing their tongues out slowly and thoughtfully.

Steve and Nat were silent for at least two minutes, both of them just staring and trying to comprehend what they were seeing.

"...Did you know her hair was…?"

Natasha shook her head, cradling the girl again.

"Oh. Okay."

Without a word, they walked out of the jet and took the elevator for the floor below them. It was a long stretch of hallways before they eventually got to the door they wanted, and Natasha worried about the security cameras seeing her and the child she'd snuck in. Regardless, Jarvis didn't hesitate to open the door for her when asked and not long after they were standing next to the king-sized bed. Steve's eyes darted to the bed. "So, now what?"

Natasha carefully peeled back the blankets and the sheets with one arm, the other dutifully keeping the girl comfortable. "Now, we just let her rest. Give her medicine when she wakes up, " She pulled the covers up to her green chin and tried not wince at the visible bruises. "Hope no one we don't want to finds her."

Steve shrugged on his way to the door. "Here's hoping. Let's go see about the med bay,"

Nat hesitantly got up from the bed, her eyes never leaving the sleeping figure. Something about her scaley features seemed permanently discomforted; as though she was in some sort of unspoken pain even now. The Avenger wondered if these fancy sheets and fluffy blankets were the problem. Wherever this girl slept her painful nights, perhaps she'd become accustomed to the feeling of sharp bedsprings, half-eaten sheets, and a rotting mattress. Maybe she was so used to it that sleeping somewhere made to be relaxing was painful. Natasha's fists clenched.

"Romanoff?"

"...Yeah, I'm coming."

And she left, reluctantly.


	4. Recovery

Natasha was well adapted to changes in plans. Such was a permanent side effect of her upbringing-adapt to all situations. Her time with the other Avengers was meant to bring some of that influence to the team, and perhaps shape them to be as good as her. Though by now, she'd come to accept that her teammates were a disorganized mess and that with that mess came more bizarre messes. Just because she could adapt to things didn't mean they didn't surprise her when they happened. The little girl (nicknamed Medusa by an immature Clint Barton) was one such example. So was the kid's subsequent coma, which lasted a week.

She first stumbled upon this bit of info when she walked in on Tony examining her facial features with the use of a hologram from his phone. Instead of the amused, dangerous look she expected to see on his face, she saw something a bit more concerned and curious. Her brief glance to the hologram showed what she guessed to be the girl's vitals.

There was a flat line in a certain part of the hologram.

Natasha didn't know why she stiffened up. She hadn't exactly known the girl very well, and their barely had a paragraph's worth of sign language shared between them. A small part of her knew her injuries were bad, but she hadn't thought to look into internal injuries. And now the girl was gone, a soulless husk in bed. Nat's lips formed a straight line as she gazed at the emotionless, unmoving face of the girl. At the very least, she finally had an end to her suffering.

Then she looked to Tony, acknowledged him with a knowing look in her eyes. "...Did she go in her sleep?"

"Yeah, " Tony sighed with more disbelief and nonchalantness than she expected. Before she could question his tone, he was speaking again. "I thought she was dead too."

_Thought_? "She's not…?"

"Nah. _Medusa_ here'll live to stump my brain another day."

She was confused at the warm relief blooming in her chest, but she saved the internal questions for later in favor of the more important ones. "But she's _flatlining_. How…?"

Tony turned off the hologram and stood up slowly. She could practically see plumes of thick smoke pouring out of his brain. "That's what's got me stumped. Either my tech is busted and she really is dead...or she doesn't run the same way we do."

Flabbergasted, The redhead raised her eyebrows the slightest. "You're saying she...doesn't have a _heart_?"

"Yeah. She might not have several...other things too, but she is alive. Comatose, but still breathing," Tony shoved his hands into his pockets and tsked in thought. "Steve said you brought the kid here and gave her meds immediately?"

Well, Steve's vow of silence lasted ten hours longer than she expected. "A bit of Nyquil. I wish you had _stronger_ stuff. Or at least some ointment for bruising."

"Yeah, I'll add it to the grocery list." Tony quipped as he quietly stalked past her towards the door. "Bruce and I'll take a looksie at the scans, see how she runs and that sort of thing. We'll keep her here for comfort's sake and have someone keep surveillance on her in case-"

Without properly thinking over his words, she suddenly blurted: "I'll do it, "

"Eh?"

"_I'll_...watch her." She reluctantly responded.

Tony raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical about that. "Right. The special trained, no-nonsense ninja assassin is gonna play babysitter."

"Ninjas are technically assassins, to begin with, Tony." Natasha spared the briefest glance at the comatose girl as she spoke. Her chest rose and fell just slightly as evidence of life. " And I'm the one who brought her in. It's my responsibility to keep an eye on her. I'll take surveillance right before and right after missions. If anything happens, you'll be the second person to know after me."

Tony waved her off as he exited the room. "Alright, _Alright_. I'm convinced. I'll leave it to you, Widowsitter."

Natasha started to follow him out of the door as well, but she once again found her gaze drawn to the tiny, helpless form in bed. No movements took place; no twitches of the fingers or eyelids, no limb movements...just the movement from her wheezing breaths. She walked over to the girl's side for the first time in a while and just stared. Her pale green scales looked even paler now, the bruises slightly diminished and the snakes looked less sickly. Natasha carefully ran her thumb along the girl's cheek, stroking in soft patterns. The child's scales felt soft and fluid despite their damaged look, like the skin of a water-going amphibian. Her eyes traced the slanted nose; the tiny slanted nostrils flaring softly in time with her breathing.

If she didn't look so worse for wear, Natasha would think her sleeping was adorable.


	5. Recovery Part 2

The next six and a half days were nice.

Natasha was many things, but a promise breaker was not one of them. As such, she kept her promise to see to the girl before and after any missions, even if some of those missions kept her late into the night. Whether she was completely fine or suffering a few bloody cuts on her person, Nat made the time to enter the room and kneel next to the little girl to inspect her. Clint offered her other medicines to administer to her, as well as a few other helpful tips he'd helpfully looked up on line. Though she was very deep in unconsciousness, it didn't mean she couldn't hear anything in the waking world...like voices.

Though it sounded silly to her, she tried it in hopes of a good psychological result. The first couple of times she approached the girl one day, she offered her some solemn mission reports and anything interesting the Avengers found in abandoned Hydra bases. When Clint suggested that her choice of words should be something kid friendly and non-work related, Natasha switched to telling the girl old folktales and myths based in Russia that were engraved in her memory. She remembered retelling _The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa_, _The White Duck_, _Vasilisa the Beautiful_, _Morozko_, and _Tsarevitch Ivan_ all within the week. The memory of where these bedtime stories originated from was depressing, but speaking them in whispers to the sleeping thing didn't allow her mind to spiral down into its past.

Natasha noticed tiny differences when she whispered the stories; her tiny green nose would flinch in mid-exhale or the pointed tips of her ears would twitch as soon as she started speaking. The former SHIELD agent couldn't be sure, but she liked to think that it was a good sign. That, somewhere in her unconscious mind, the girl was growing fond of the calm Russian voice speaking to her, telling her stories she'd never heard before.

The girl awoke after half of the sixth day passed, perhaps a little before she arrived back at the tower after a mission and got into more comfortable items. Clad in black sweatpants and an even darker tank top, she walked down the hallway to the door without much thought. Had she known who was awake, she would have entered the room a little more thoughtfully than she did. As it was, Natasha walked inside the room and just barely zipped to the floor to avoid a blur of green _acid_ aimed for her _face_.

She was actually happy to be in civilian clothing; had she been in _uniform_, her reflexes would have had her going for her _gun_ before she could even stop herself. Natasha kept herself crouched on the floor, just trying to get her heart to stop pounding adrenaline through her veins and to keep herself from switching into kill mode. She raised her hands as a show of non-hostility as she got up from the ground, her eyes instantly trained on the now fully _awake_ toddler.

Apparently, the acidic substance was vomited out and doing so required the girl's lower jaw to split _apart_ in the middle while opening her mouth wider than what should be possible. The woman only witnessed this when the girl's split jaw set itself back together, like the mouth of a normal human girl. While the snakes attached to her scalp were once half dead before, they were now creating a chorus of agitated hisses while baring their fangs in the direction of the intruder. The girl herself seemed to have only vomited the substance as a reflex to being spooked, given her look of fear and anxiety. But soon, the expression gave way to a look of recognition when she got a good look at Natasha's face.

Natasha watched the snakes slowly lose most of their hostility after that, settling for a ready striking position instead of hissing. The redhead looked up at the growing hole in the metal door thanks to the green acid eating away at every last bit of it. Nat surmised that not only would she have been very much dead if that hit in her face, but she would have been a very _unrecognizable_ dead woman too.

When she looked back at the girl, her tiny hands were quivering into different signs. "_Me a-am sorry. Sorry. Please d-don't punish me,_ "

Ignoring the awkward twist in her heart, Natasha slowly stood to her feet and responded with her hands as well. " I_t's okay. It's okay. I...promised you no one would hurt you again_." She signed slowly, thoughtfully. "_Do you remember?_"

The girl still seemed fearful of potential pain, but body crouched low and submissive. "_M...Me do…m_…" She swallowed and looked around at the entire room with confusion wrinkling her face. "..._wh-where am m_e…?"

_"A safe place. A good place_." Natasha said as she slowly leaned down in front of the bed, lowering down to one knee and keeping a safe distance so that the girl didn't freak out again. "_You were...sleeping for a long time. I kept you safe. My name is Natasha_."

Despite her worry, downright confusion made her wrinkle her shout. "..._W-What's a name? What's a...Natasha_?"

She smirked. "_A name is what someone calls you, or what you call yourself! I'm called Natasha...so that people know who I am_."

The girl looked baffled at this new information, blinking at Natasha with wide, reptilian eyes of wonder. Before much else could be said from either of them, a painful sounding gurgle erupted from the girl's stomach; they both stared at each other in silence. When the girl, only looked away in shame, Natasha leaned to get back in her line of sight. "_You've been sleeping for a while. You must be very hungry. Do you want something to eat?_"

The girl looked utterly surprised by the question, and even her snake hair seemed stumped. Blinking slowly, the girl raised her hands to Natasha and signed: _"Y-Yes_?"

So the woman stood up slowly, backed towards the door and offered a final: "_I'll be right back_, " Before she escaped to the Tower's kitchen. A few of the chefs were confused as to her sudden appearance, then even more confused when she started making a breakfast plate of sausage patties, bacon and scrambled eggs. Within about twelve minutes time, the woman was entering the room again. Thankfully the girl was still sitting in the same spot, patiently waiting for the return of this strange new person.

Nat set the plate down in front of the kid, glad that none of the snakes attacked her hands when she did. The child stared down at all the plate had do offer, at the fork itself and then at Natasha. "_What's this…?_"

"_Food! Very good food_."

"_It smells...different from the food me usually gets_."

"_Try it_, " Natasha urged her warmly, reaching forward and taking one of the two bacon off the plate. She made a whole show of biting into the bacon and chewing with a pleased expression. "_Mmmmm_, "

The girl reluctantly mimicked her by picking up the remaining bacon, but that was as far as she went. Squinting at it, the girl's tongue appeared to lick it; which was apparently a long, forked tongue at that. The kid straightened up after deeming the taste edible, then carefully nibbled away at the bacon until it was all gone. Natasha watched with growing happiness as the girl ate the other items as well, eventually downing the entire plate. The girl patted her stomach, thoughtfully at that. "_Me full. Never been full before."_

"_Well, we have plenty to offer here. Food or otherwise_, " Natasha explained to her. She tried not to focus on the still evident bruises on the child, dreading the heart pains that accompanied a glimpse or two. "_I hope you come to like it here, kiddo_."

"_Kiddo_, " The girl signed, interest keeping her fingers steady. "_Is that my name?_"

Natasha snorted a little. "_Well, no. I don't think you have one._"

Disappointed, the girl bowed her head. "_Oh_."

Frowning, the woman mulled over the child's apparent disappointment and leaned onto the bed. "_Say_, " Nat began, getting her attention once again. "_Why don't we make a name for you_?"

The girl's beautiful blue eyes widened in surprise. "_You can do that_?"

Natasha shook her head. " _No, we can do that. Want to?_"

The girl slowly but surely smiled. It just barely hinted at teeth behind her lips, sharp white teeth. Even with their dangerous look, the smile was still innocent and curious. It made the woman all the more happy, even if she wouldn't admit it aloud.

"_Yes, please_, " The girl agreed.


	6. Awakening

Natasha was well adapted to changes in plans. Such was a permanent side effect of her upbringing-adapt to all situations. Her time with the other Avengers was meant to bring some of that influence to the team, and perhaps shape them to be as good as her. Though by now, she'd come to accept that her teammates were a disorganized mess and with that mess came more bizarre messes and blah blah blah.

Anyway, It became a very eventful couple of hours for Natasha and the newly awakened girl.

The quest for a name had been a long one the first day. Natasha left and returned with her phone to kneel in front of the bed, where the girl had been curiously nibbling away at her generous meal; little by little. She first looked into the more common American names that children her age had and then rattled off the names one by one to see which one the girl liked the most. Only, that method was briefly stumped when the girl became confused by the sight of the phone and asked many questions about how it worked. It took ten minutes of explaining that photos were just photos and not people trapped inside the tiny glass box before they eventually got back to the whole naming situation. Even then, after listing the entire alphabets worth of names...it didn't seem the kid took to any of them.

"_Zena_?" Natasha signed hopefully, only for the girl to frown a little deeper. "_Hmm...well, that was all the names in the world, really._"

The girl looked ready to asked what a world was but looked more concerned about the lack of a name. Her snake hair curled in and out anxiously as she pouted. "_Me never get a name_…"

"_No. No, we'll...we'll find you a name_…" Natasha leaned against the bed casually, her fingers tapping away at the search bar to learn about different snake classifications. Though Nat was certain she didn't understand a word of English, the little girl cautiously crawled over to look over her shoulder at the phone anyway. Natasha took note of the snake hair not being as aggressive as it had earlier; perhaps they were nonhostile as long as the girl was the one approaching. The redhead found it even more surprising to find the snakes all staring at the screen, tongue flicking in interest. She lit the phone in her lap to sign. _"How about this one…Natu_?"

"_No like_."

Natasha looked over the list again. "_Pyth_?"

The girl scrunched her nose at her, and so did the snakes. Holding up her hands in defense, Natasha wisely skipped that name. She read some more on her phone before her eyes lit up. "_Ophidia. And Ophi for a nickname?_"

The girl blinked. "Ophidia, " The girl grinned brightly. "_I have a name_!"

So her name was now officially Ophidia...or rather _Ophi_. Natasha allowed her to finish the rest of her food, occasionally speaking to answer the girl's curious questions about the room.

Though she was shy and clearly in no condition to stand the slightest of touches, Natasha was nothing if not the most patient person on the team. She quietly waited between questions, which often spanned from five to fifteen minutes at the most, occasionally pitching in small talk with the girl. Even if the girl was a traumatized, cautious mess she was enjoyable to talk to. It was difficult to put to words, but it was refreshing to not have a conversation based on the violent exploits of the day or over what new mission would be had tomorrow. With Ophidia, it was only simple inquiries. _What is this place? Why is the bed so soft? Why is the food tasty? Are there people trapped behind the big black thing with the flat screen? Why is it called a TV? Why am I here?_

She explained as much as she could to the girl without the possibility of confusing her. Nat explained that Ophidia was here simply because she _deserved_ to be at the tower. She explained that Ophidia deserved a better bed, better food and a bigger place to live in. When the girl commented about the size of the room making her feel too small, likely as a result of living in a cramped spot for too long, Natasha felt the strange urge to reach out for her. It just appeared in her heart, tugging at the muscles of her arms longingly. But she kept her distance, licked her lips as she thought for a moment. She eventually proposed a deal to the girl; a promise.

If she ever felt very alone, very small in the great big room, Natasha would come it make it feel smaller. The girl, thinking deeply over the matter, eventually promised to ask when in need.

She didn't even need to tell the girl that it wasn't a good idea to leave the room; mental conditioning from being kept in a cage for who knows how much of her short life would make her afraid to leave. She had to work slowly with her, gently coax her to come out on her own. She'd have to teach the girl new things while playing Therapist; if she could speak and chose not to, then she would be taught English later on. She would need to learn a few hygienic lessons as well, something that Natasha could clearly smell from her position near the bed.

Later on, as night approached, she decided to teach the hygienic lessons first and foremost. As she guided her to the in-room bathroom, she handed Ophi a colorful toothbrush and let her curiously examine it. It was only when she licked it and attempted to eat it that she stopped her and explained what it was. Applying the paste to her own and then the kid's, Natasha made a fancy show of brushing her teeth and scrubbing it everywhere around her jaws; spitting it out iN the sink when she was done. Ophidia did a perfect job of mimicking her, scrubbing at her canines while a thoughtful expression hinted at her tasting the wintergreen toothpaste. Then, following Natasha's movements, she spit it out on the _floor_ and smiled.

_Honestly_, it wasn't like the girl was tall enough to reach the sink anyway. Natasha cleaned up the spit and explained that next time, it would be best to spit in the _toilet_-the big white bowl looking thing.

The next lesson was a bath; Natasha didn't know at the time, but it would be the part the woman hated the most. After filling the tub with warm water that Ophi seemed to like, she helped get her out of the tattered clothes she'd arrived in and climb into the tub. There were scars, more scars than she expected to see over the girl's body. Lash marks were against her back in a field of bruises, healed cuts along her arms and signs of injuries in places they shouldn't be. If Ophi was uncomfortable with the washing process, she didn't say so or make it known on her face. Her snakes, which were normally rather hostile when in close proximity, cautiously watched and kept out of the way. Ophidia just watched curiously as Natasha squeezed the towel's soapy contents across her scaly skin and dipped it back into the water.

After a few minutes of quiet washing, Ophidia lifted her hands out of the water. "..._Natasha?_"

Nat paused, worried that she was causing harm to one of the scars. "_Yes_?"

Ophi frowned. "_Why are you so nice to me?_"

Natasha's smile was lopsided. "_Because I want to be nice to you._"

Ophi seemed to accept that answer, for she asked no other questions. Soon the bath was finished, and Nat lifted her out of the water to dry her off. Clint, with all his thinking and helpfulness, came back to the tower with an arm full of clothing the girl's size and even a few toys. She smiled thinking about him as she got her into a Hello Kitty onesie and then tucked into bed. She found one of the bought toy items, a sizable plush teddy bear with purple fur, and handed it to Ophidia. "_Here. Someone to keep you company_."

The girl took the bear thoughtfully, slowly ran her fingers over the soft fur of its head and slowly hugged it to her chest. Natasha couldn't help smiling at the sight as she began to walk out of the room, and Ophi took it as a sign to smile too. Natasha found her room right next door to Ophi's and got ready for bed herself. She stayed up just for an hour or two after she got into her own bed, listening for signs of life beyond the wall. It was too muffled to be sure, but Nat thought she could hear soft _crying_ in the night.

Natasha didn't know, but tonight was only the first of many nights she would hear this.

* * *

**I'm considering having one last chapter to wrap this up, and create a sequel about these two in a slice of life series of one shots, spanning from Post-Winter Soldier to Endgame.**

**Edit: Nah, this is the last chapter.**


End file.
